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Bysshe Shelley presents nature’s power as gentle but ultimately a power that defeats human power, whereas in Owens in Exposure presents nature’s power also as defeating humans but it is an aggressive, violent, murderous power. In Ozymandius we are told that the “lone and level sands drift on”, this alliterative l sound is soft and gentle, a contrast to the alliterative plosive b sound of the “boundless and bare” description of Ozymandius (based on the human Pharaoh Ramsees II). The contrasting alliterations highlight the gentleness of nature, and the violent and aggressive nature of the human ruler. However what is important is that the poem (a single stanza) ends with the reference to nature. This ending is significant because it symbolises nature’s finality -   it is nature that remains the constant, not human power which “shatters”. Therefore nature’s power is presented as having permanency and defeats human power as it outlives it. Nature’s power also defeats human power...
Essay question - Do you think Piggy is an important character from Lord of the Flies?   Piggy is an important character because he is one of the few characters whose mostly fatal fates portray the disintegration of society. This is shown through the constant link between Piggy and the conch throughout the book – indeed the conch is ‘born’ with Piggy as it is he who finds it and immediately, unlike Ralph, sees it value straight away. It is poignant that not only does Piggy give birth to the conch, but that the conch dies with him also. The conch and its inextricable link to Piggy is vital in helping us to understand that what it symbolises -   order, the rule of law and mutual respect and integration of all – therefore when Piggy dies so too do all of these values and so society disintegrates. This is highlighted as the conch “exploded into a thousand white fragments”. The verb choice explode highlights the total destruction of the conch and its values and it also is as...
More notes and musings on A Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol First sentence in the text is about death – introduces a negative atmosphere and the theme of death. A negative beginning. In the first page there are many words in the lexical field of death. There are multiple references to death. Repetition of Marley was dead. Dead as a doornail – simile. Repetition of dead occurs often in the first page, even including the superlative "deadest". This highlights the presence of death and further the morbid atmosphere. Dickens is highlighting the current awful situation Scrooge is in, also is he suggesting that the Victorian era is morbid and depressing. The word choice of "unhallowed" suggests sinful but also links to the theme of religion. Repetition of sole, sole = only. Introduces the theme of loneliness. In the first page alone the word dead is included 6 times. Furthermore the word "sole" is repeated five times furtheri...
Our complete Blog posts on A Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol   First sentence in the text is about death – introduces a negative atmosphere and the theme of death. A negative beginning. In the first page there are many words in the lexical field of death. There are multiple references to death. Repetition of Marley was dead. Dead as a doornail – simile. Repetition of dead occurs often in the first page, even including the superlative “deadest”. This highlights the presence of death and further the morbid atmosphere. Dickens is highlighting the current awful situation Scrooge is in, also is he suggesting that the Victorian era is morbid and depressing. The word choice of “unhallowed” suggests sinful but also links to the theme of religion. Repetition of sole, sole = only. Introduces the theme of loneliness. In the first page alone the word dead is included 6 times. Furthermore the word “sole” is repeated five times furthering the theme of l...